Thanks to scarletwater, Gort, Miss Akiyata and an anon for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 4: Returning Home

There is no better advantage than the home advantage.

…

England sighed. He was already on a plane, on his way back to London. He hoped that he'd be able to find an explanation, and a solution, to what is currently happening. And if not him, then Norway or Romania.

He had managed to catch a few glimpses of his reflection. Every time, a grinning, blue-eyed face would stare back at him. Almost… expectantly. As though the one on the other end was waiting for him.

And it might just be the case. He heard a voice come through the mirror, as though trying to speak to him, but it wasn't reassuring. The crazy giggle was discomforting, and it only served to make him wish to find a solution sooner. And then there were the words spoken by the counterpart.

"Come on! Why don't we play a little game?"

It seemed innocent enough, but there was just something in the tone, in the way he said it, that sounded rather ominous.

Well, he might as well catch a wink while on the flight. As soon as he returned, he knew that he would have to go through the mountains of books in search of something he wasn't even sure what to search for. And then there would also be the jetlag to deal with.

That was one of the reasons why he called his brothers. He needed their help, as much as he hated to admit it. And then, there was the risk of something happening. The same thing that happened when he became too fatigued and could no longer control his magic. Dangerous things are attracted to his magic when it is no longer under his control.

And his brothers knew how to stop it.

…

Oliver frowned slightly before smirking. He had been hoping to speak to his counterpart all morning, but it would seem that the other Brit was pointedly ignoring him. Oh well. He had to acknowledge him sometime. And when that time comes, then he would start having fun.

Taking a bite from his cupcake, he watched as the other curled up to sleep. What seemed truly odd was the fact that he appeared to be in an aeroplane. No one in his world dared to use public transportation. Too easy for someone to ambush you. And it was always such a hassle…

He sighed, before he glanced at the packed bag. He would have left hours ago, but he wanted to see more of the other world, and it was easier if Norway and Romania were there as well. And they had so much fun making cupcakes the previous night. They did, however, end up giving the extra blood to the Italy twins as a gift. Who knows, their sadistic tendencies might come in handy when they play the game, and it was better for all of them if the two Italians weren't too upset. Especially Veneziano. It was better in the long run.

Poland's not the only one good with strategies, after all.

Grabbing his bag, Oliver started to chant under his breath. It was only a matter of time before the portal appeared and he stepped through it.

This was, after all, the best way to travel.

…

Canada sighed happily. It was a bit of a drive from America to his place, but it was better than most. The only others that had his advantage were America himself and Mexico. All the other Nations had to catch a flight, which would be followed by jetlag.

Matthew spared a glance in the mirror, catching his reflection, and seeing Matt, still driving. Matthew knew that everyone in Matt's world hated public transportation, and therefore hated a plane. He also knew why. It had occurred a few times that Matt was attacked whenever he was out in the open. By his own people.

Well, the ones that didn't shrink away in fear, that is.

Another thought occurred to him. He had to get back to Kumjiro. He was sure that the bear would want proper, warm food, and not the food that Matthew had left behind.

That was another thing, his own private game. Kumajiro would always forget who he was, and in a bit of payback, he would always get the bear's name wrong. It was his own way of letting the bear know that he could also be forgotten. But, at the same time, he would never really forget his bear.

He just wished that those in his world would remember him. It stung, to always be overlooked by your brother, your father, your adoptive father, and everyone you dared to consider a friend. Matt remembered him, but it was probably because it was hard to ignore your own reflection, once you become aware of it. It hurt even more that his beloved pet didn't even know who he was.

Then there was the Commonwealth meeting that he would have to attend soon enough. At least some of them acknowledged him. But he was still mostly invisible. Although, it was fun to see some of the former colonies take a swing at England. Some of them really enjoyed criticizing him, a game that has been played since the Statute of Westminster. Back when he was a Commonwealth Nation, Ireland would act as an instigator, along with South Africa. Australia would usually be the next to join, followed by New Zealand and even Canada. Even though Ireland was no longer a member, and even though there were a few new members, the tradition never died down, and Scotland would usually come to these meetings too, just to see his younger brother be put through hell by Nations he used to control.

Payback, they would all say. And they said it a lot.

Of course, they weren't completely cruel. Information about the game never left the Commonwealth of Nations. Nations that were no longer part of the Commonwealth would remain quiet as well, and secretly enjoyed the fights England had with France and America, whom basically did the Commonwealth's job for them.

Speaking of which, he never told Matt about the game they would play. He was sure that he would enjoy that type of mental torture.

…

The first thing Prussia noticed when he woke up was that his head was pounding. He thought that he might have had too many beers the previous night, before he immediately disregarded that thought. After all, the awesome Prussia could never have too many beers. Beers were part of the reason why he was so awesome.

The second thing he noticed was that his reflection looked funny. It wasn't his usual, awesome self. In fact, his reflection was as far as awesome as could possibly be.

He had tired looking blue eyes and his white hair reached just beyond the shoulders, making him resemble his vati. He wore what appeared to be a Teutonic Knights uniform, except it was a light grey with Prussian blue. He also had a scar on his right cheek. His face was mostly blank, but there was a bit of curiosity in his eyes as he seemed to be studying him.

Gilbert frowned, an action that wasn't reflected in the mirror.

"What the…" he said. "Who the hell are you?"

There was no answer. Normally, there shouldn't be an answer, except the reflection didn't ask the question with him.

"Hey, answer me!" Gilbert said. "Seriously, so unawesome! If you're not going to say something, then can I have my regular awesome reflection back?"

The reflection said nothing, and did nothing. Gilbert officially lost his temper, and punched the mirror.

Bad idea.

As he was clutching his bleeding fist, he let out a string of curses in both German and English. The mirror was shattered, but he could still see the different reflection in the shards.

And now he had to pay for the broken mirror.

…

Gilen stared in surprise. He never flinched when an attack was aimed at him, but he was caught off guard when it appeared that the mirror on the other's end was apparently broken, if the other's reaction was anything to go by. He half expected that the fist would go through.

After all, he saw someone else that vaguely looked like him through the mirror, and the other could obviously see him. And he could hear the other's voice, so it was safe to assume that the other would have been able to hear him as well, making it possible for the two of them to be able to speak to each other. So he assumed that it might have been possible for the other's fist to go through.

Apparently not.

Shaking his head, Gilen took his luggage and decided to leave. He was one of the few Nations that still slept, and that was because he was quite a light sleeper, and those that dared to attack him while asleep had suffered. Even Poland knew to let sleeping Prussians lie.

…

Spain couldn't understand why his reflection looked so different.

The reflection had long black hair tied back in a ponytail with dark, almost black, brown eyes. His skin was slightly darker than Antonio's, and there were scars across his face. He wore the same clothes Spain used to wear when he was a conquistador, and he seemed to fit the part.

What got to Antonio the most was the fact that the other looked… scary.

He immediately turned and fled, hoping to ask France and Prussia whether or not their reflections were also strange.

…

Alejandro glared in the mirror. His reflection appeared to have turned tail and fled, and usually he would enjoy something like that, except that such weakness had come from a face almost identical to his.

And then there was something about the other's eyes. Something carefree and… cheerful. He hated it.

He watched as his reflection made its way towards another room and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, it seemed as though France answered.

A very well-groomed France.

"Is something wrong?" the other France asked.

"Si," the other Spain said. "My reflection…"

The other France held out a hand, stopping the other Spain. His eyes were wide.

"Let me guess," France said. "It looks like a twisted version of you?"

Alejandro felt a wave of outrage. Twisted?

"Si," the other Spain said. "My reflection looked scary."

"We should ask Gilbert if he has seen this strange reflection too," the other France said. "Something tells me that something bad is happening, and it's not just because my reflection is atrocious."

It might just be his imagination, but Alejandro could swear he felt a bit of killing intent coming from somewhere in the building, and he figured he knew where it came from.

'Might as well ask Francois what he knows about this,' Alejandro thought.

…

Francois opened the door, just as Gilen was passing it. He grabbed Prussia and dragged him inside his room.

"What?!" Prussia exclaimed. "What are…?"

"One question," Francois said. "Did you see a strange reflection of yourself or not?"

Gilen looked at him oddly before nodding his head. A few seconds later, there was a demanding knock on the door, and Francois opened it to see Spain was standing there.

"Tell me what you know about the reflection," Alejandro growled.

"I know that it's the object of Poland's newest game," Francois said. "And, since he invited me to play, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you played as well."

That got both of them interested. Alejandro smirked, a truly terrifying look in his eyes.

"Tell me more," Spain said.

"Poland said that we should exchange information with each other," France said. "You both are welcome to come."

"Sure," Prussia said. "It would be nice to be on the other side of a game for once."

…

Lithuania hurried out of the hotel, his bag by his side. He was freaked out by what he saw that morning.

His reflection was completely different. The hair was a darker brown and was tied in a ponytail. The eyes were also a chocolate brown, and the skin on the other was deathly pale. He wore a red version of Lithuania's military uniform, and then there was the look in the other's eyes.

Pure hatred.

He never thought he would say it, but he had seen someone that scared him more than Russia did. And the truly terrifying part was that it was his own reflection.

He was still debating whether or not to tell Poland. On one hand, Poland would make fun of him for being scared of his own reflection. On the other hand, Poland could see it too.

…

Tolys huffed as he waited for Felic. The other had told him the previous night about the new game he was playing, and Tolys had agreed when he saw his reflection.

His reflection appeared weak and pathetic. He hated it. So he made it a point that, no matter what, he would teach the other a lesson.

And now, he and Poland had to return to their homes, and he was unlucky enough to be stuck driving the two of them home.

Oh joy.

…

Norway sighed. He was on a plane, along with the other Nordics. He had managed to get them to help him in his search, but he did not say why. He did not need them telling him that he was crazy (again), so he simply said that it was for research purposes.

He also didn't mention that he might perform a few magical searches, and that it would wear him out, and that something dangerous might come if he was wiped out. Luckily, it wouldn't attack him if there were others around.

Experience taught him that much.

…

When Arthur eventually arrived home, it was, thankfully, not to an empty house. It was a house out in the countryside, a few hours away from London. And it was where his books were. It was more of a mansion, but he kept everything in his basement, which was almost like a dungeon. He had managed to terrify America with the things that were down there, but it wasn't too hard. For a 'hero', America was pretty easy to scare.

He had noted that, as requested, his mirrors were either removed or covered, and he was thankful for that.

Arriving in the living room, he was immediately greeted by the sight of his four brothers, each drinking a glass of whiskey.

Scotland was taller and also more muscular than Arthur. Alistair had vibrant red hair and the green eyes that they were known for. He wore a blue uniform with white sashes crossing over the front. Out of his four brothers, Alistair was the one that bullied him the most, but was the first to arrive when England was truly in trouble.

Wales was also tall, but he was leaner than Scotland. William had the trademark green eyes and brown hair. He wore a beige uniform with black sashes in the front. Out of the UK brothers, Wales was the oldest, and also the calmest. It was nearly impossible to find something that would faze him. The only exception was when he was tired or when he was forcibly awoken. That was not a pretty picture.

Northern Ireland was also taller than England, but was slightly shorter than the other two. He had the same green eyes, and his hair was ginger. He wore a light green uniform with black sashes. He also parted his hair to the right, and there were freckles on his cheeks. Of the Irish twins, Patrick was the more serious one.

Ireland was almost identical to his northern brother. He had the same green eyes and he also had ginger hair, but his was parted to the left and was shaggier than his twin's. He wore a light green uniform with white sashes. Out of all of the brothers, Seamus was the least responsible brother.

"Artie," Scotland said, and all eyes were on him. "Care to tell us what's going on?"

Arthur nodded before taking a seat, pouring a pint of whiskey for himself.

"Yesterday, Poland brought to our attentions that the mirrors are reflecting strange versions of ourselves," England started to explain. "Romania and Norway had seen their reflections as well, and they saw the same thing I did. Our three counterparts our cannibalistic, baking a human into cupcakes."

The others' eyes were wide with that particular piece of information.

"We think that it might be another world we are seeing," England continued to explain. "A darker world. I have seen a few glimpses, and it was not pretty. Also, strawberry blond is not a nice colour on me."

The Ireland twins exchanged a glance.

"Are you saying," Wales said, "that the reflections look different?"

England nodded his head.

"Yes. My hair has a bit of a pinkish tint and my eyes are blue. Norway's hair is white. And Romania's hair is black, as well as Poland's."

"What about the others?" North asked.

"I haven't seen anyone else," England said. "But I spoke to Romania. He said he saw a glimpse of Canada, and they didn't look too different. He also said that not all the Nations of that world appeared to be cannibals."

"That's good, I guess," Ireland said. "Any idea what might be causing it?"

"No," England said. "And that's why I need your help. There has to be something in at least one of my books about what is going on. Because I saw the look in my reflection's eyes. There was pure insanity."

"Alright then," Scotland said. "I guess we need to start getting to work."

…

Oliver frowned.

He was slightly insulted by what Arthur had said about him. But that's okay. As soon as they found a way to cross over to their world, he would make sure to have fun with him.

He couldn't wait.